Toronto Raptors guard Dennis Schroder found himself in familiar territory a fortnight ago — back on the bench.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup MVP was listed as a reserve in a Dec. 27 game against the Washington Wizards. He had started in his first 29 games with the Raptors prior to the contest. Toronto won the game by 30.
Schroder has since accepted a bench role, but reportedly “wasn’t exactly happy with the decision.” A report published Monday by Sportsnet’s Michael Grange indicated that one of the reasons the veteran guard chose the Raptors in free agency this offseason was to escape the bench role.
Schroder spent a good portion of the last two seasons coming off the bench. He only started 29 of his 64 games played with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets in the 2021-22 campaign.
Schroder started in 50 out of 66 regular season contests for the Los Angeles Lakers last year. But he came off the bench in 13 out of the Lakers’ 16 postseason games during their 2023 playoff run.
Schroder may not have been ecstatic about coming off the bench one again. However, the 30-year-old stated that he values winning and closing games more than the need to start.
“At the end of the day, it’s whatever it takes to win the basketball game,” said Schroder. “For me, to be there, end of games, to impact winning whenever I’m on the floor, it’s the most important.”
The Raptors had lost 10 of their last 13 before Schroder was turned into a sixth man. They entered Tuesday’s game against the Lakers 4-2 in games Schroder came off the bench.
The data is skewed, however, given that the Raptors made a huge trade that coincided with Schroder’s role reduction.
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